Yelich hits for cycle against Reds, again

Christian Yelich hit for the cycle for the second time this season, setting a major-league record by doing it twice against one team.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ slugger completed his cycle Monday with a sixth-inning triple against the visiting Reds in an 8-0 victory.

Yelich also hit for the cycle when he went 6-for-6 on Aug. 29 in Cincinnati, making him the fifth player to accomplish the feat twice in one season, and first in Brewers history.

He became the first major-leaguer to do it twice in one year against the same team.

The previous player with two cycles in one season was Aaron Hill in 2012.

Yelich singled in the first inning, doubled in the second, launched a two-run homer in the fifth and added a two-run triple in the sixth.

With the Brewers nursing a large lead, he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth.

Milwaukee began the night with a three-game lead in the NL wildcard race.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals kept their playoff hopes alive with an 11-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta. Paul DeJong and Marcell Ozuna each knocked in a pair of runs for the Cards who improved to 83-68 on the season, and went into the night a game behind the L.A. Dodgers for the second wild-card spot.

The Dodgers were playing a late game against the NL West Division-leading Colorado Rockies.

The Braves remain 61/2 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East Division. The Phillies were 9-4 losers to the New York Mets on Monday. Michael Conforto had a career-high six RBIs and finished a triple shy of the cycle while Zack Wheeler pitched seven solid innings for his careerbest 12th win to lead the Mets.

Conforto had a two-run single in the fifth, an RBI double in the seventh and a three-run homer in the ninth for the Mets, who are 26-17 over their last 43 games.